Paper Nativity

This morning I'm leaving for our Christmas vacation, but I could not leave with out sharing this little paper nativity I found via How About Orange. It was created by Marloes de Vries, an illustrator and designer from the Netherlands. I LOVE nativities and I got really excited when I saw this one because this is one you could give to/ make with your kids! There is even an outline version you can color in! All you need is scissors, glue, and maybe some crayons and you've got holiday fun for the whole family! Download the pdf here. HAVE FUN!

Pack it up

Really quick I just have to brag about my weekend! On Friday my husband gave me an early Christmas present. It was a much needed gift card for a massage. THEN he surprised me with a babysitter on Saturday so we could have a date night (which we hadn't had in a long time)! Awesome right? I am so lucky! On to the post...

Today we are packing up to head to California tomorrow! Have I mentioned we are taking the train? I am so excited, I've never taken a train, unless you count the one at Knotts Berry Farm (but I don't). Have you taken a train anywhere? How was it? I'm a little worried for Mason because he only sleeps in his car seat or crib and we will have neither of those AND we're traveling in the middle of the night AND the ride is almost 18 hrs. Any pointers? I would love to hear!

Unfortunately I just looked at the weather report and of course it will be snowy and windy tomorrow of all days! We still have so much to do! The laundry is still piled and the only suitcase packed is the one full of Christmas presents.

I am excited, however, because tomorrow I get to meet my best friend's new little baby before they head off to Canada FOREVER (rethink it Ros).

Have an amazing Christmas everyone! I will definitely take pictures of our train adventure and will be sure to share them with you!

Image via Curbly

Feeling Festive

I'm feeling quite Christmas-y today, for no apparent reason! I just want to go sting some popcorn and cranberries! That would definitely be Christmas-y! Here's some things I found on Pinterest to put you in the Christmas Spirit!

These so remind me of my childhood! My grandma always had this same mug sitting on a table with those minty taffy things that have the tree in the center! Yum!

So I am not a big fan of Rexburg in the winter, but one thing I love is Main Street. They cover Main Street in lights and it makes me so happy! (This is not Rexburg, notice no snow?)

What makes you feel Christmas-y? Please Share!

Have a wonderfully Christmas-y day!

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Camp Family Christmas Cards

I finally can share our Christmas card with you! I sent them out late last week so I've been waiting 'til people received them to share this with you! I love how they turned out! What do you think?

We decided to go with this card because this will be our last winter in Idaho so we thought it was fitting.

I created a custom backer for us (which you can have too right here). I was inspired by the navy and green in Mason's newborn photos (taken by the amazing Rosalyn).

I also created a wrap around return address label to match (if you want one contact me through my custom page).
I'm proud of this little card and so happy to show off our little family. Thank you so much to those who have supported me in my new little business venture. It's taken a ton of energy and love, so thank you to those who have stuck by me and furthered the new brand!

Gingerbread Party

Yesterday we had a few friends over to for a little gingerbread house party, it's sort of becoming a tradition for us. This is a really fun and simple idea if you want to throw one yourself. We had each couple bring their own house and a candy to share. We bought our kit from Target this year and it came with EVERYTHING! It had pre-made white royal icing as well as red and green and all the candy you would need. This kit did not have the house pre- assembled so we tried to assemble it our selves and it was sort of an epic fail. Our icing did not harden quick enough so while we were still trying to assemble it one side fell and broke in half. We never did get the roof to stay on (it's resting on the wall just for this picture).

The hubs decorated the roof pieces separately and I decorated a wall and a half (not my finest work).

Needless to say our house is a disaster but the party was a success! No one finished their houses but we had great conversation AND Jon  and I were "psychoanalyzed." Here's a few mor pictures of our little home.
Tomorrow I'll be sharing our Christmas cards here so be sure to check back then!

Unique Custom Gifts

Are you still looking for the perfect gift for someone? Have you thought about something custom? Maybe you have childhood pictures laying around and would like to create something out of them for your mom for Christmas. Or maybe you've seen some subway art on pinterest and want a custom saying for your wall (or someone else's wall) printed on canvas. If you think you would like to give something really personal and special this holiday send me a request on my custom page. Hurry quick! To insure delivery by Christmas orders should be placed by December 15th.

Pinspiration: Wreaths

Happy Friday! Are you so excited it's December? The Hubs only has 2 weeks left of this semester and then it's off to California for 9 days! Saying I'm excited would be a huge understatement! What are your holiday plans? Today I have a little Pinspiration for you. I love having a wreath on my door this time of year and I've been seeing some amazing wreaths on pinterest, so I thought I'd share. Most of these would be pretty easy to DIY as well (if only I had money...).

This first wreath above I fell in love with a few years ago on Martha and then recently rediscovered it on pinterest (link below). Can you tell what it is? Moss! Yup. I was going to attempt making  this wreath but unfortunately I live in a small town and couldn't find the right moss! To recreate this all you need is a wood wreath form, moss, and t-pins. Could someone please recreate this and send me a picture since I can't make one myself?

This one is moss as well but they used a square form! I love when wreaths get an update with a geometric shape!

Gorgeous right? And they look so timeless and effortless!

Have you been introduced to felted balls? You can buy them on etsy in bulk and glue them on a simple wreath form. I'm diggin the red one. The different sized balls give it so much texture!

I die every time I see this one. The white on white with hints of gold makes such an impact!

This beauty is created from dollar store ornaments! So cheap and easy (and no one would suspect it's from the dollar store).

How cleaver is this? They just took a large letter and glued fake berries to it! Easy peasy.

Shut the front door! (no seriously, I want to see your wreath) This last one is my FAVORITE! This is what I would put on my door if I lived near the ocean or in the middle of the desert.
You want a wreath now don't you? Have an amazing weekend!


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Christmas Colors

When you think of Christmas colors you, I'm guessing, immediately think of red and green. Red and Green are classic and always look great for the season, but are you wanting something a little different? Today I've complied a few different color schemes that are modern, bight, and still festive to inspire your decor this year.

I love the "peacock blue" with the hints of red in this one!

Hello! Isn't the mint with the black and white chevron amazing! This color is so inspiring to me, in fact it inspired this card. I am CRAZY about this!

Have you seen work by Emily Henderson from HGTV? The girl in a genius! You have to see her globe snowmen, who thinks of that? She does! This color scheme is based off of her holiday special on HGTV, check it out!!

Hope you were inspired! Now go buy some hot pink ornaments and get decorating!

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Paper Snow

Hello my friends! How have you been? Are you so excited Christmas is near? I am! What are your favorite things to do this time of year? Do you have family traditions? Have you started your own traditions? I've been thinking a lot about traditions lately, which ones I want to carry over from my childhood and new ones for our little Mason baby. This year we won't really be starting any traditions because we will be gone for about 10 in December, plus we are moving in April.

One thing I will be doing this season is making paper snowflakes. This is one of my favorite things to do (in fact I do it throughout the year, it's very therapeutic). I love that you can fold a piece of paper, make a few cuts, open it and it's a different masterpiece every time!

A few nights ago I got bored so I pulled out scissors and paper and got to work making little snowflakes. Since we won't be around much in December our Christmas decor budget is $0 so I thought it would be cute to sew a bunch of snowflakes together to make a garland, or suspend them at different heights in our front window. I haven't officially decided what to do with them yet, but I think I need a lot more to make an impact!

This one is my favorite! It reminds me of the native looking patterns that are really popular right now.

What do you think I should do with these beauties? Please share your ideas, and I'd love to hear about your Christmas traditions!

Holiday Cards

I just ordered my holiday cards and I am so excited for you to see them. Since it's our last winter in "Iceburg" (that's Rexburg for those of you who have never been to this frozen tundra) we ended up choosing the "warmest wishes" card. We chose a different picture (and name) than the one on the site and I designed a custom back. I've decided to share the custom back with you, so now if you order warmest you can get a little somethin' extra. Check the store to see the new backer. Today I will be designing our return address labels to match the card (maybe I'll share those with you too).

Don't forget about the Cyber sale that ends tonight! Enter "cybersale" at checkout to receive 10% off holiday card orders over $50.

Cyber Monday is Here Early

Head over to the DesignFancy shop to snatch up this awesome deal! Don't miss out, offer ends Monday!

Thankful...

I have so many things to be thankful for today:

• that sweet boy you see above
• my best friend (that would be my husband)
• my faith
• amazing family and friends
• everyone that's supported my new business (thank you!)
• and I'm grateful that my Heavenly Father has a much better plan for my life than I do

What are you grateful for today?

Have an amazing Thanksgiving. Tell someone why you are grateful for them today!

The New Helmet Hair

Did you know my baby has a helmet? I don't think I've mentioned it. Well, he does. Why you ask? (it's ok EVERYONE does) A few months ago we noticed he had a flat spot on his head that wasn't improving so we had him checked and he was diagnosed with plagiocephaly (sounds scary right? it's not). He's just has to wear a helmet for 23 hours a day and keep it on for 3-5 months. We also have to take him in to get it checked and adjusted every 2 weeks.

People ask if it hurts him or bothers him. We hear most babies cry and fuss the first couple weeks they have it on but our little trooper has seemed to never notice. He in fact likes to play with his helmet, it's his favorite toy (kinda strange I know).

Today we had a those check-up and his head is doing amazing. He has made HUGE improvements in only a month and a half. We are so excited and so proud of our little man's head! Woohoo!

No More Pumpkin Pie

Do you like pumpkin? I love pumpkin, but I do not like pumpkin pie (weird I know). I thought I would share some pumpkin recipes that I enjoy making (and are pretty easy) so you have some non pumpkin pie options!

First up is my favorite go to Pumpkin Muffin recipe. A LONG time ago I went to weight watchers and in the meeting before Thanksgiving we were discussing low cal dessert options. Some random lady shared this recipe and I've been making it every since! Best part, it's so easy!

Ingredients:

• 1 Spice Cake Mix
• 1 c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c water

Mix all the ingredients tother and follow the temperature and times on the back of the cake mix. I will sometimes add chocolate chips or top them off with fat free cool whip.

So easy right? and only a few ingredients. I like to always have pumpkin and spice cake mix on had so I can make them any time.


The next recipe is one I found on skinnytaste.com. You MUST check out this site! It has the best recipes. I probably use a recipe from there twice a week and every one in scrumptious. This pumpkin recipe is no exception! The recipe is for Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Yogurt Cupcakes. I wish I had taken a picture of these because they are beautiful! 


here's what you need:

• 12 reduced fat vanilla wafers
• 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 oz fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt (I used plain and it still tasted great)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup pumpkin pie filling 

I only had pumpkin puree so I added some brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice to it and it turned out perfect! Make it work!

Preheat your oven to 350°

Line a cupcake pan with liners and place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each one.

Beat together your cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until it's smooth. To that, gradually beat in the egg whites, yogurt and flour. Pour this mixture into the cupcake liners. Make sure to only fill it half way. 

Plop 1 tbsp of pumpkin pie filling into the liners. Take a tooth pick and swirl the pumpkin into the yogurt mixture. Bake for 25 minutes. When finished let them cool, and then chill them.

There you have it, 2 delicious options for your Thanksgiving feast. Let me know how yours turn out!

Are You Ready?

Have you heard about those people that go shopping at like 2am the day after Thanksgiving just to get cheap stuff? Crazy right? I'm totally one of those people! I live for Black Friday! I am so anxious for Friday, I cannot sit still, my adrenalin is already pumping. I've been looking at the ads for weeks now checking for who has the best deals. I've planned my attack route, created a list of who gets what from where... the list goes on. I am a serious Black Friday shopper, I would even dare to say competitive. This is not my fault, in fact it runs in my family. I won't be with them this year, but every year the whole family goes out together to face the crowds and awesome deals. When I was in high school all of the girls on my mom's side of the family (mom, sisters, grandma, cousins, aunts) would meet at the mall before the sun came up, these are some of my favorite memories.

This year I'm braving the cold and crowds with a friend who is a Black Friday virgin. I've told her I get a little crazy on Black Friday but I don't think she believes me (my husband is worried we won't be friends after).

Being the Black Friday expert that I am, I've created a little survival guide for you because I would hate  to hear that any of you got trampled!


There are several places online where you can find Black Friday ads available for you to view. I use www.theblackfriday.com. They seem to always have the ads first. The research is very important to your Black Friday experience. Don't think you can go out at midnight having no idea what the stores even have, you have to go with a purpose, with specific items in mind. Sure you'll find other stuff along the way, but knowing what you are looking for will help you to shop quicker and get out of one store and onto the next much faster. You may also want to call which ever store you are going to to make sure they have a certain item and how many of that item they will have. This could be a game changer, so be prepared.

If you are wanting a TV or other popular items you need to get to the store EARLY. To get there early you need to find out when the stores open. Be careful not to get trampled. I've never tried to get a big ticket item so I like to show up about a 1/2 hour after the doors open because the store still isn't too crowded or picked over and I don't get trampled (nor do I assist in the trampling).

Unless there are two of you you will have to prioritize your shopping list, unfortunately you can't be two places at once. Let's say there is a really good deal on a gift you've been eying for your mom at Target, BUT there is an unbeatable deal at Kohls on a toy that your kid has been asking for for months, AND they open at the same time. Where do you go first. It's a tough call to make. I usually go to Kohls first and get all my shopping done at one time, but this year Old Navy is bringing some good deals so I don't know where to go first! Keep in mind that they might not have a large quantity of hot ticket items like TVs.

If you haven't already make lists. I make a list of people I need to buy for and what I'm buying for them according to store, That way I know exactly what I'm shopping for and I don't forget about anyone in the rush. I also have back up gifts planned so if plan A is gone, I can just go to plan B or C without getting flustered. If I'm not sure what exactly I want to get them I at least make a list of ideas, so if there is a good deal on one of those ideas I can go with that.

One thing I've learned from experience is dress smart. You want to dress in layers that you can remove so you don't get overheated, but also think about trying things on. If you are planning on trying some things on yourself, wear things that can easily be taken off and on, and maybe even thin t-shirts so you can try things on over your clothes and not wait in dressing room lines (always a little embarrassing, but no one there will remember you!). Also if you don't want to deal with the crowds there is always Cyber Monday!

I hope this guide is helpful for you! Don't get hurt out there!

Original image found here

Winners

Congrats to the winners of our Facebook giveaway! Later today on the Facebook page there will be a poll happening so go check it out and participate.

Have an amazing weekend, and I'll meet you back here on Monday my fancy friends!